Roses are red...but don’t take your true love to a drive-through takeaway for dinner

Sheona Small

Roses are red, violets are blue, some notion’s of romance would make a Valentine’s date fall through.

Or at least that’s seems to be the findings of survey to find out what women would like on Valentine’s Day - and what advice to give to men.

Should you propose on Valentine’s Day? Go for flowers? Or just ignore the whole event?

The Car People asked 2000 people in its survey and the results were not so unexpected, with the exception of one or two surprises.

On the marriage proposal question, men and women were pretty even in their opinions, with 60 per cent thinking it was a good idea - though for any would-be suitors out there, bear in mind that means that 40 per cent of women would not welcome a proposal on Valentine’s Day!

Are we Scots canny or just a little bit mean on romantic gestures? Nearly three out of five Scots asked said they would be spending £30 or less on Valentine’s Day - and a quarter of people in relationships said they would not be spending a penny on the celebrations, especially over 55s.

Although 66 per of singleton Scots will be alone and staying in this Valentine’s and 35 per cent envy their friends in a relationship, the survey revealed it may not be all its made out to be.

Thirty-four per cent of the Scots surveyed who were in a relationship said they would prefer to be single at Valentine’s because it is more fun, 32 per cent would like to be single at Valentine’s to have a break, 70 per cent said Valentine’s is not important to them and 53 per cent said their partners have stopped snogging them!

Seventy per cent of people in a relationship wanted to go out to mark the day but when it came to just men, a third wanted to stay in and avoid the high prices and busy restaurants.

Based on the answers given by women, The Car People’s advice to men is do not make it a double date, go to a drive-through takeaway, ask for half the petrol money or cost of the date - and don’t make your present a Valentine’s mix tape.

However, it’s not all about the money - nearly 90 per cent of women in relationships said they would like to receive a love note.

And when it comes to flowers, they’re still a favourite, with nearly three-quarters of women saying they would like to receive flowers at work - and, surprisingly, 64 per cent of men said it would be romantic to receive a bouquet too.